Cigarette lighter



Nov. 18, 1969 s. H. NEWMAN 3,479,125

CIGARETTE LIGHTER Filed Nov. 28, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORjfflA/LE/ ,4. A/Eu/Mm/ ATTORNEYS Nov. 18, 1969 s. H. NEWMAN 3,479,125

CIGARETTE LIGHTER Filed Nov. 23, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR T'A LEYNEWMA BY Alb-(4W4 ATTORNEY Nov. 18, 1969 s. H. NEWMAN CIGARETTE LIGHTER5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 28, 1966 VENTOR ll. V'Il/Mfl ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,479,125 CIGARETTE LIGHTER Stanley H. Newman,Schwartz & Frolrch, 19 E. 70th St., New York, N.Y. 10021 Filed Nov. 28,1966, Ser. No. 597,256 Int. Cl. F23q 2/04 US. Cl. 431254 2 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to cigarette lightersof the type using an inflammable gas (such as butane) as a fuel and,more particularly, to a lighter which has a minimum number of majorparts and is readily produced by mass production methods.

Such cigarette lighters are commonly known as gas lighters and may be sodistinguished from the wick or liquid fuel lighters of the prior art.

In gas lighters, the gas is usually contained in a sealed storage tankwith a valve and burner system connected to the tank to permit thestored gas to be released in a controlled fashion when desired. Thereleased gas is usually ignited by a spark in the conventional way. Mostprior art lighters were made from a number of individual parts whichwere fitted together to provide a head mechanism which was used incooperation with a valve and burner system to ignite the gas releasedfrom the storage chamber. Such a prior lighter is shown in US. PatentNo. 2,943,471, issued July 5, 1960, to me.

The prior art lighters were usually assembled from a number ofindividual parts and this entailed a substantial amount of either handlabor or relatively costly machine tools. Also, most prior art lighterswere manufactured primarily from metal stampings, castings ormachinings. As a result, the individual components had to be assembledtogether in order to provide a reliable lighter mechanism.

By means of the present invention, an improved lighter construction isprovided which permits major subassemblies of the mechanism to be moldedfrom plastic. The other components may be easily inserted into themolded plastic components and readily assembled into a realiable yetinexpensive lighter.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved gas lighter construction which is simple and economical tomanufacture. It is a further object to provide an improved lighterassembly which is so economical that it may be thrown away after asingle supply of fuel has been used up.

The above-stated objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe description of the embodiment shown in the drawings. Although asingle preferred embodiment is depicted in the drawings and described inthe specifications, it is to be understood that this embodiment ismerely for the purpose of illustrating the invention and it is notintended to so limit the invention other than as set forth in theappended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side perspective view of a lighter in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploled view of the lighter of FIG- URE 1 showing thevarious components used in the assembly of the lighter;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view taken generally along the lines 33 of FIGURE1 showing the interior of the lighter;

FIGURE 4 is a partially fragmentary side view of the lighter taken alonglines 4-4 of FIGURE 3 showing the interior of the lighter;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional side view taken along lines '55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 66 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 4 showing valve mechanismin an open position; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an alternate detentdesign for holding the valve activator in an open position.

Referring to the drawings and to FIGURE 1 in particular, a lighter 10 inaccordance with the present invention is shown. The lighter 10 isgenerally comprised of a fuel storage casing 12, a support body 14, asparkwheel 16, a valve activator 18 and a cap 20.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 7 the lighter 10 further includes a valveassembly 22. The valve assembly 22 consists of a backing plug 24, avalve seal 26, a spring 28 positioned between the plug 24 and the valveseal 26, a spring 28 positioned between the plug 24 and the valve seal26, a wick holder 30 which holds a wick 32 in position, and a pressurepiece 34. The valve assembly 22 is inserted into a bore 35 in the body14.

The function and operation of the valve assembly will be described indetail later.

In addition to the valve assembly 22 the lighter 10 also comprises aflint holder tube 36 and a sparkwheel tube 40 in the body 14. A spring42 and a flint 44 are positioned in the flint tube 36 so that the flintbears against the underside or surface of the sparkwheel 16. A shaft 38is fitted into the sparkwheel tube 40 and the sparkwheel 16 is mountedthereon.

The valve activator 18 further includes a lever arm 46, an activatorshaft 48, a burner tube 50 which extends through the shaft 48, and avalve cam 52 which extends from the lower portion of the shaft 48. Thebody 14 also has therein a tube 54 into which the shaft 48 is inserted.

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, referencemay be had to FIGURES 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. As shown in FIGURE 4 inparticular, the body 14 is seated on the upper edge portion of the fuelcasing 12. Any suitable materials may be used for the body and thecasing. However, I have found that a moldable plastic is especiallysuitable since it is possible to mold such material easily, quickly andmost economically. A supply of fuel F (such as butane) is contained inliquid form in the casing 12. The wick 32 which is advantageously madeof a thin highly absorbent material such as felted paper extends intothe supply of fuel F.

The upper portion of the wick 32 is passed through an opening 56 in thelower portion of the body 14. The Wick opening 56 advantageouslyintersects the bore 35 which accommodates the valve assembly 22. A shaftportion 58 on the wick holder 30 is inserted into the valve bore 35 andpassed through the upper portion of the wick 32. After passing throughthe wick 32, the shaft 58 is continued through the bore 35 into a loosefit section of the bore 35 having an opening 60. A shoulder portion 62is also pro-- vided on the wick holder 30. The shoulder portion 62 isadjacent to and bears against the wick 32 and compresses it against thesurface 64 of the wick opening 56. In order to increase pressure on thewick and thereby reduce the supply of fuel available at opening 60, thepressure piece 34 has a screw surface and is so mounted in the body 14to bear against a flange portion 66 of the wick holder 30. The amount ofcompression which may be placed on the Wick by the shoulder 62 islimited by the spacing of the flange 66 from the surface 68 in the bore35.

Shaft 58 is preferable loosely fitted in the opening 60. Accordingly,gaseous fuel may flow from the wick and through the opening 60 when thatopening is exposed to atmospheric ambient pressure whereby the liquifiedfuel is permitted to volatilize. In order to control the flow ofgaseousfuel through the opening 60 a boss 70 is provided surrounding theopening 60. Covering the opening 60 and positioned adjacent to the boss70 is the valve seal 26. Fitted into the end portion of the valve seal26 is a seal member 72 which is preferably made of a deformableelastomeric material such as synthetic rubber. Advantageously, thecross-sectional area of the seal 72 is slightly gerater than thecross-sectional area of the boss 70. This greater cross-sectional areaof the seal 72 insures the seal when pressed against the boss willtightly fit and prevent any possible flow of gas to the atmosphere fromthe opening 60 when such is not so desired. In order to-hold the seal 72in tight fitting engagement with bore 70, the spring 28 is positionedabout a hub 76 on the valve seal 26.

The spring and hub are fitted into backing plug 24 which is force fittedor held by other means securely in place in the bore 35.

The valve seal 26 is also provided with a flange portion 78.Advantageously the flange 78 is positioned in the bore 35 at that pointwhere the bore intersects the tube 54 which accommodates the shaft 48 ofthe valve activator 18. The flange 78 is positioned adjacent to thevalve cam 52 and when the valve lever arm 46 is rotated in the directionof the arrow V (as shown in FIGURE 3) the cam 52 is rotatably moved intocontact with the flange 78. As the rotation of the cam 52 continuesafter contasting the flange 78 the valve seal 26 is forced out ofcontact with the boss 70.

As the valve seal 26 is moved from the boss 70, the opening 60 is leftuncovered. As shown more clearly in FIGURES and 7, a passageway 80 inthe body 14 connects the bore to the opening 82 in the burner tube 50.Since the burner tube is exposed to atmospheric ambient pressure, thecompletion of the communication from the opening 82 through thepassageway 80 to the opening permits fuel from the wick 32 to volatilizeand flow through the burner tube as a gaseous fuel.

Sparkwheels are generally sections of circular cylinders. The sparkwheel16 embodied in the present invention is also of this construction.However, in the present invention the sparkwheel 16 is not mounted as inthe prior art about a horizontal axis, but it is mounted about avertical axis. In addition, the flint 44 is not brought to bear againstthe curved surface of the wheel, but it is brought to bear against theflat under surface of the wheel. By this unique arrangement the size ofthe lighter is made more compact and the mounting arrangements of thewheel and the location of the flint are simplified, particularly tofacilitate mass production.

In actual operation the sparkwheel 16 is rotated in the direction of thearrow W of FIGURE 3 by rubbing the thumb of the user against the wheel.As the wheel turns, it generates a field of sparks due to the contactwith the flint 44. The users thumb as the sparkwheel is being rotatedalso contacts the valve activator 18 by pressing against the lever arm46. This causes the activator shaft 48 to rotate bringing the cam 52into engagement with the flange 78 on the valve seal 26. The valveassembly 22 is therefore opened and flow of gaseous fuel is provided tothe burner tube 50. As the gas leaves the opening 82 itis mixed with airwhich enters through ports 84 in the cap 20. The mixture of gas and airis then ignited by the field of sparks generated between the sparkwheel16 and the fiint 44. The burning mixture exits from the lighter 10through the flame opening 86 in the cap 20. When the user releases thethumb pressure on the lever 46, the spring 28 of the valve seal 26 urgesthat member back into position so that the seal 72 covers the opening 60and abuts in closing relation with the boss 70. This, of course, cutsoff the flow of gaseous fuel and causes the flame to be extinguished.

A detent 88 may be provided on the under surface 90 of the cap 20,whereby the lever arm 46 may be held in a locked position so'that thevalve assembly will be open and the flame may continue to burn withoutthe necessity of the user keeping his thumb on the lever arm 46. Thisconstruction is shown in the fragmentary View of FIGURE 8. In thenormally closed valve position, the lever arm 46 is at station A. As theuser rotates the lever 46 is moves against and then below the detent 88to the position shown at station B. As pressure is continued to beapplied to the lever 46, it rides under the detent 88 and then upwardlyto the position shown at station C. Since the return force of the spring28 is not suflicient to overcome the holding action of the detent 88,the lever 46 will remain at station C until pressure is applied manuallyto return it to the position of station A. Thus, as long as the lever 46is at station C, the flame will continue to burn.

Due to the unique compact construction of the present lighter it isreadily adaptabl to be molded from suitable plastic material. The valveactivator 18 with its various integral components may efiiciently bemolded from a high strength impact plastic such as polyoxymethylene.Such a material is sold under the trademark Deliin, a product of Du PontCorporation of Wilmington, Del.

The backing plug 24 and the valv seal 26 may able be made ofpolyoxymethylene. However, as stated previously, the seal member 72 isadvantageously made of a synthetic rubber having desirable elastomericproperties.

The sparkwheel shaft 38 may also be made from polyoxymethylene and,therefore, the size of the anchorage of the shaft in the cap 20 may bekept to a minimum. The cap 20 is provided with a small opening 92 intowhich is fitted a hub 94. A flange 96 is also provided on the shaft 38and this serves as a bearing surface between cap 20 and the sparkwheel16. A slight recess is provided in the sparkwheel 16 to accommodate theflange 96. Thus, it will beseen that the selection of proper materialpermits the sparkwheel to be located in a horizontal position.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the sparkwheel, because of its horizontalposition, may be made of a supporting plastic body 104 and a metallicabrading surface 106.

In order to insure further positive closure of the valve system, a post100 may be provided on the upper portion of the valve activator 18. Aspring 102 (as shown in FIG- URE 2 in particular) is affixed to the post100 and also about the hub 94 of the sparkwheel shaft 38. When the leverarm 46 is swung in the direction of arrow V there will be a pressureapplied by the spring 102 urging that the lever return to its addressedposition, thus insuring proper sealing between the seal member 72 andthe boss 70.

It will be seen from the foregoing description of the embodiment of thepresent invention that a lighter has been provided which may bemanufactured from the minimum number of parts and quickly and easilyassembled thus providing a-low-cost lighter but one which is sturdy inconstruction and reliable in operation.

It is claimed:

1. A cigarette lighter of the type described herein using a storedliquified gas as fuel, said lighter having a longitudinal axis which isvertically disposed when the lighter is being used, said lightercomprising a fuel storage chamber, a supporting body member for mountinga fuel valve, burner, valve activator, fuel transfer means and asparkwheel and flint, said body having a first opening therein for thevalve, said first opening being horizontally disposed with respect tothe longitudinal axis of the lighter and passing completely through saidbody, a second opening for the burner, said second opening beingvertically disposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the lighterand said first and second openings in communication with each other, athird opening for receiving a shaft for mounting the sparkwheel, saidthird opening being vertically disposed with respect to the longitudinalaxis of the lighter and said sparkwheel being horizontally disposed withrespect to said axis, and a tubular chamber for holding a flint incontact with one surface of the sparkwheel, said valve comprising avalve seat, a seal, a resilent closure for the seal, an openingcommunicating with the fuel transfer means and the valve seat, saidopening being normally closed by the seal under the action of theclosure, the burner and valve activator being integral formed andincluding a through fuel flow opening therein, cam means integral withthe burner for moving the seal out of contact with the valve seatwhereby fuel from the transfer means may flow through the fuel flowopening, a lever for rotating the burner and the integral cam means,said valve activator lever being operable independent of the sparkwheel.

2. A cigarette lighter as'described in claim 1 wherein th fuel transfermeans includes an absorbent wick, one

end portion of which is placed in the fuel in the storage chamber andthe second end portion is positioned adjacent the opening communicatingwith the fuel transfer means and the valve seat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS EDWARD J. MICHAEL, PrimaryExaminer

